U.S. Route 6 in California

U.S. Route 6 (US 6) is a transcontinental United States Numbered Highway, stretching from Bishop, California, in the west to Provincetown, Massachusetts, in the east. The California portion of US 6 lies in the eastern portion of the state from Bishop in the Owens Valley north to the Nevada state line in Mineral County. Prior to the 1964 state highway renumbering, US 6 extended to the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach, California, as part of the historic auto trail named the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.[5]

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 6 in California. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 6.

U.S. Route 6 marker

U.S. Route 6

Grand Army of the Republic Highway
US 6 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length40.505 mi[1] (65.186 km)
Existed1936[2]–present
Major junctions
West[3] end US 395 in Bishop
Major intersections SR 120 in Benton
East[4] end US 6 at Nevada state line southwest of Coaldale, NV
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesInyo, Mono
Highway system
← I-5→ SR 7
Sign listing the mileage to US 6's eastern end in Massachusetts

Route description

The segment of US 6 in California primarily runs north–south[6] despite the course of the rest of the highway being east–west.

Starting in Inyo County, US 6 begins its route at Bishop at a junction with US 395 near the Bishop Paiute Tribe. After leaving Inyo County and entering Mono County, the highway proceeds due north to the town of Benton and makes a junction with State Route 120 (SR 120). The highway then begins ascending the lower foothills of the White Mountains, toward Montgomery Pass in Nevada. The highway reaches the state line before cresting the pass. While still in California, the highway passes Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada.[7]

US 6 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System[8] and is part of the National Highway System,[9] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[10] US 6 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System,[11] but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.[12]

History
Historic US 6 sign near the southern terminus of Sierra Highway

The California portion of US 6 was originally commissioned in 1937 as an extension of the highway from Greeley, Colorado, as part of the historic Grand Army of the Republic Highway auto trail.[13]

Grand Army of the Republic Highway

US 6 was later extended further south through the Mojave Desert and Los Angeles to Long Beach in Southern California.[5] It traveled along with what is now US 395, SR 14 (Sierra Highway), I-5, I-110/SR 110, and SR 1. When the Four Level Interchange was constructed, US 6 was the original number for SR 110 at this interchange.

It formerly ran from Long Beach west to San Pedro and continued north on Figueroa Street, briefly concurrent with US 66 in Los Angeles before turning northwest and cosigning with US 99 on San Fernando Road. US 66 continued north on the Arroyo Seco Freeway before also being decommissioned in 1964, leading to the Harbor and Arroyo Seco freeways being redesignated to SR 11, which ran from Gaffey Street in San Pedro to Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. In 1981, the Harbor Freeway between Gaffey Street and I-10 became I-110, replacing the SR 11 designation. The northern segment of SR 11 continuing to Glenarm Street became SR 110, which continues briefly as the Harbor Freeway before becoming the Pasadena Freeway north of the Four Level Interchange with US 101.

Renumbering

In 1964, all the route of US 6 in California south of Bishop lost official status with its US 6 signs removed. The highway was truncated to Bishop as part of the 1964 state highway renumbering.[14] In 2007, the state legislature recognized the decommissioned segment as Historic US 6 and approved the placement of Historic US 6 signage along the old alignment.[15]

Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

CountyLocationPostmile
[1][16][17]		DestinationsNotes
Inyo
INY R0.00-8.35		Bishop0.00 US 395 – Los Angeles, RenoWest[3] end of US 6; former continuation of US 6
0.13

 Wye Road to US 395 north – Reno
Mono
MNO 0.00-32.29		Benton25.72 SR 120 – Lee Vining, Yosemite National Park
​27.30Agricultural Inspection Station (westbound only)
​32.29
 US 6 east – Tonopah		Continuation into Nevada
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. Daniel P. Faigin. "California Highways Routes 1 through 8". Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  3. "A US 6 west marker located between the Nevada state line and Benton". Google Street View. September 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  4. "A US 6 east marker located just beyond the SR 120 intersection in Benton". September 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  5. Michael Ballard (June 5, 2008). "Virtual Tour of old US 6". Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  6. "Route and Direction". Caltrans. December 2007. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008.
  7. Nevada Road and Recreation Atlas (Map) (2003 ed.). 1:250000. Benchmark Maps. 2003. p. 70. § B2. ISBN 0-929591-81-X.
  8. "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  9. Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (North) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  10. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  11. "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  12. California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  13. Richard F. Weingroff. "U.S. 6- The Grand Army of the Republic Highway". United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  14. Dale Sanderson. "End of US highway 6". Archived from the original on February 6, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  15. "State Concurrent Resolution No. 26" (PDF). 2007.
  16. California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  17. California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
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